Enabling a user to employ a newly added printer over a network is often a complex task. At an overview level, initial set-up in current network environments generally requires the creation of print queues, printer objects and print servers. Then, such queues, objects and print servers must be properly linked and configured. Then, to send a print job to the network printer, the client processor usually directs the print job to a network queue on the print server, and then the print server processes the job from the queue and sends it to the printer.
More specifically, adding a printer to a network environment is, conventionally, no small task. It requires a series of installation and configuration steps that are generally performed either by a user or a network administrator or both in cooperation with each other. Namely, the printer requires specific configuration steps to be performed and parameters to be applied for successful operation on the network, as also does any computer (client processor) on the network that will be sending data to the printer. For example, typically, a vendor's configuration application program must be executed on a client computer to identify the new printer (device) to be used on the network. Once the new printer is identified from a list of devices presented by the vendor's configuration application, then the configuration application provides proper configuration parameters for that new device. The configuration parameters are very specific to the device being added and to the client computer and network over which communication occurs.
Additionally, a print server must be configured to enable use of the newly added printer on the network. Conventionally, the print server manages and monitors use of the printer relative to all client computers on the network, and all client computers access the printer via the print server. Accordingly, the print server must also be configured, in addition to the client computer, to enable use of the printer over the network. This includes, typically, a vendor's configuration application also being executed on the print server for that printer.
In addition to a vendor's configuration application being executed to install and configure the printer on the print server, the network operating system must also execute its configuration routines on the print server in order to configure and enable the printer for the network via the print server. This often includes identifying appropriate printer files, registering the printer with the spooling system, establishing printer queues and printer ports, and defining client processor network share-access rights to the printer. Unfortunately, the vendor configuration application and the network operating system configuration routines are generally not integrated, and must also be accessed directly from the print server itself. Thus, a network administrator conventionally manually initiates this software configuration process for the newly added printer from the print server itself.
While such a conventional network printer configuration system and method works well, when properly configured, it is more complex and cumbersome than what most users care to engage in. In addition, if the installation or configuration doesn't work quite right, troubleshooting can be both difficult and time-consuming.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to enable a peripheral device, such as a printer, to be automatically configured without user intervention upon connection to a network.